That’s because the Confection Case is undergoing a 6 week refurbishment, and is therefore closed.

But don’t fret! Not only is the rest of The Confectionery open (so you can still buy all sorts of in-house and prepackaged goodies), you can also still easily find your favorite house-made Disney confections —items like Mickey Krispy Treats, Cake Pops, Caramel Apples, and English Toffee — at Big Top Treats in New Fantasyland and Prairie Outpost & Supply in Frontierland! And the candy kitchen is still functioning at the Confectionery, so you can even get some house-made treats right here! Just not sold out of the case.

The six-week timeframe should position the reopening to occur around the beginning of November — right when the treats in the case will likely receive their annual holiday makeover into hues of red, green, and frosty winter blue.

In the meantime, let’s take a little tour to see what The Confectionery looks like at the moment.

The Current Confectionery

It’s a bit disorienting to see such a hallmark of the shop behind refurb walls, so just as a reminder, the Case is to the left of the open kitchen where you can watch Cast Members create the treats. [Read more…]

Okay, let’s face it: construction walls covering up refurbishment areas in Disney World are something we’re pretty used to seeing. They cover everything from the upcoming Frozen Ever After attraction in the former home of Epcot’s Maelstrom to Avatar Land in Animal Kingdom to the ongoing transformation of Disney Springs, and then some.

Do you have your Advance Dining Reservation to enjoy the Flying Fish as we know it for this, its final week? Though the Flying Fish will reopen later this Fall, its refurbishment — beginning on Monday, February 1st — will bring major changes to this BoardWalk favorite. Not only is the location being “reimagined” with a new look, but the Chef’s Counter experience will offer table seating in order to accommodate more guests.

UPDATE: Please note that the Flame Tree Barbecue reopening — originally scheduled for late April — is now anticipated for early July. The text below has been updated accordingly. With the exception of Beastly Kiosk, which has switched back to its own menu, alternate food locations are still in operation.

Flame Tree Barbecue is a definite fan favorite among Counter Service options at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The name gives you a pretty good idea of the main attraction here. From ribs to pulled pork, barbecue is the headliner. Typically, you can also find Fruit Plates and some downright fantastic onion rings, among other items. And Flame Tree Barbecue has also become home to Jumbo Turkey Legs at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

The yummy eats, decent variety, and gorgeous outdoor seating areas make Flame Tree Barbecue a popular dining location. But for the upcoming months (re-opening is anticipated for early July), this well-loved restaurant is undergoing a refurbishment.

Flame Tree Barbecue closed for refurbishment

Planning a visit to Animal Kingdom during this time frame? You may be glad to know that you can still find several Flame Tree eats around the park. And we’re here to tell you where to find them… Here we go!

Discovery Island’s Beastly Kiosk and the Gardens Kiosk — widely referred to as the “Allergy Kiosk” — are both carrying the same Flame Tree items: a 1/2 Slab of St. Louis Ribs, the Rib and Chicken Combo, and the 1/2 Chicken, as well as the Baked Drumstick Kids’ Meal. (More on where you can now find the allergy-friendly kiosk later in the post!)

Gardens Kiosk temporarily serving Flame Tree items

Beastly Kiosk outside of Asia gates from Discovery Island

Area shot around Beastly Kiosk (left)

Temporary Menu for Beastly and Gardens Kiosks

Barbecued Chicken and Ribs at Flame Tree Barbecue

The Beastly and Gardens Kiosks are a natural fit for the redistribution of these items, thanks to their close proximity to Flame Tree. In fact, for now you can still carry your items to the Flame Tree Barbecue seating area from these locations.

Flame Tree Barbecue seating

Dinoland U.S.A.’s Trilo-Bites is where you can now find the Jumbo Turkey Leg and a Barbecue Chicken Salad. This is a homecoming of sorts for [Read more…]

We were excited to see the results, and — of course — excited to taste the food! We shared a photo tour of the whole space just after the food court reopened. But there was so much to see that we couldn’t fit it all in one post. So today we’re back at Intermission Food Court to explore the food options a little more in depth, from a full rundown of the menus to sampling a few of the items ourselves (as we so love to do!).

Still, just as a reminder, we’ll begin by taking a quick peek at the updated design of Intermission Food Court.

Atmosphere

For those familiar with the All Star Food Courts, you’ll notice the changes immediately. First off, bold primary colors have given way to earth tones.

Intermission Food Court Entrance

Intermission Food Court

Intermission Food Court

The larger-than-life murals of musicians are gone, but that doesn’t mean the nods to music have disappeared… they’re just more subtle. Some of my favorite features include the guitar fret wall, the “drum kit” over the beverage station, and the woodwind instruments surrounding the Singing Spirits Bar.

Guitar wall

Beverage Station

Singing Spirits Bar

And, of course, some Disney pals have joined in on the fun, too…

Character Pane

Character Panes

But now it’s time to explore the food options a little more in depth, so here we go!

Eats

Let’s take the food court station by station… and grab a bite or two while we’re at it ;). We aimed to get a small sampling from each station — or “shop” — on our visit, but I don’t want to miss the chance to point out the Pizza and Pasta Shop, which was one station we didn’t try.

Pizza and Pasta Shop menu

Pizza and Pasta Shop menu

So, yeah, there’s pizza here ;). Or you can grab a Hot Italian Sub. The pasta might be the more noteworthy option, though, since [Read more…]

And when it looks this great (aside from the obvious convenience), that’s especially good news…

Intermission Food Court Entrance

Atmosphere

Taking its cue from the All Star Sports End Zone Food Court (which underwent a remodel of its own last year), Intermission Food Court now employs clean lines and a more neutral, somewhat muted color palette as opposed to the bold primary colors and over-the-top murals of musicians featured in the previous design.

Intermission Food Court

Intermission Food Court

While it’s immediately pleasing to the eye, what I love is that it’s deceptively simple. There are some obvious tributes to musical instruments, such as the woodwinds surrounding the indoor window of the Singing Spirits Bar.

Singing Spirits Bar

Singing Spirits Bar

But the more you look, the more you see. For instance, the Beverage Station appears to be simply that, with a few musical touches on the dispensers and such.

Beverage Station

Beverage Dispenser

Hot Cocoa Dispenser

But after taking a closer look, those circles on top of the Beverage Station actually [Read more…]

Okay, coffee lovers… what we’ve suspected for a while now has officially been confirmed by Disney: Starbucks is coming to Hollywood Studios in February 2015!

Starbucks logo

But there are a few additional details along with the announcement: we’ve also got a name! The Trolley Car Café will have a “classic trolley car station” theme.

While Disney has only officially confirmed the location as being “along Hollywood Boulevard,” all signs point to the L.A. Prop Cinema Storage merchandise location, which closed for refurbishment a few months ago, and remains surrounded by refurbishment walls.

Construction continues to affect the lobby, the Nanea Volcano pool, and the entrance of the resort… not to mention the recent name change back to Disney’s Polynesian Resort Village.

Slowly but surely, some results of all that work are starting to be seen, beginning with the newly reopenedCaptain Cook’s: the Polynesian’s Quick Service location. We gave you a tour of the temporary location when Captain Cook’s refurbishment began in April, and now we’re excited to share the results of the past four months with you!

Say “Aloha” once again to Captain Cook’s!

Atmosphere

The entrance feels very familiar… mainly because it’s the same .

Entrance to Captain Cook’s

Captain Cook’s sign

In fact, though, the entire location feels familiar since most changes are cosmetic (with a few exceptions that we’ll explore a little later).

If you’ve visited Captain Cook’s before, you’ll still know exactly where to go. Upon entering, you’re greeted by the main dining area.

Captain Cook’s main dining room

Captain Cook’s main dining room

The breezy, palm-trees-swaying vibe has changed to a darker color palette, which is offset by two things: attractive light wood flooring and super fun vintage travel “posters.”

Samoa and Niue posters

Bora Bora poster

Tokelau poster

Tonga poster

The one thing competing for your attention with the artwork are [Read more…]